The Continental Can Company is a prime example. The principals in this venture are genuine good guys. They have done great things to, for and with the city of New Orleans, and for that Buddha Bubba is proud of them. For the most part, they have built their projects the old-fashioned way, with smart management and marketing. Why, then, is it necessary for the City of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana and the Federal government to invest in the rehabilitation of the property?

The government has created a situation where a private company cannot do anything without the assistance of the certain people in government, not government itself. Why isn’t possible to apply for a license to do business and have a reasonable expectation that government stay out of it?

Why should any tax money be spent to help a private developer make money, when there is a concerted effort to thwart the efforts of his rivals, and other businesses, and restraining them from operation? Is it ethical to tax one unreasonably and pay the other to do business?

The new Jazzland theme park in New Orleans East is another example of project in which a select few in government awarded special privileges and funding to a small group of cronies in the private sector. The proposed Automobile Racetrack in New Orleans East also fits that pattern.

Why is there more public money, government money (which in case anyone has forgotten is yours and mine) than private, (the people who will profit from using our money) in these projects?

The answer is simple: Government, as envisioned by our founding fathers, was to be adversarial in its creation and then unanimous in its execution.

The people of New Orleans have become insular and complacent, so we get what they ask for - bad government that represents a select few. Most people just shake their heads and walk away. Buddha Bubba can't do that anymore. He left New Orleans twice before, to live in New York and Washington DC for almost ten years. But he does not intend to give up on New Orleans again. It is now time to stand and be heard.

Buddha Bubba asks the hard questions. He welcomes discussion about solutions.

e-mail him at wayne@wonderfulwayne.com .

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